German Self -propelled Howitzer Pz. Sf Ivb (Sd Kfz 165/1) Geschutzwagen by Brian Bocchino

Kit:  On Track Model #35003
Medium: Resin
Rating: *****   Highly Recommended

This kit is completely resin.  From the quality, you would think it was a ModelKasten Injection molded kit.  This is the highest quality that I have seen in any resin kit, on par with Armand Bayardi's quality.

The kit consists of 112 different parts molded in a tan resin.  Even the delicate parts are well formed with little flash, if any.  No air bubbles are present.  The parts are mostly attached on long resin strips that appear to be easy to remove.  A raw saw is a must.  Very few parts have large wedges of resin to remove.  Both the turret and the hull are hollow which is often unusual from resin manufactures.  Both the turret and hull included a well-detailed interior.  The tracks are resin individual links, hollow guide horn, matter of fact; there are 189 tracks!  The tracks will be a challenge considering the need for epoxy gluing while attempting to shape them correctly around the road wheels.

Instructions:  The instructions are better than most.  Resin kits are notorious for instructions, but these consist of 4 pages of different steps.  The layout shows the pieces assembled with a number and line drawn to each piece.  A separate page includes a photographic parts list of 108 parts.  The only parts not shown are the lower and upper hull, the turret and floor of the turret.  Also included are two pages of color photographs of the model containing 8 pictures of the completed model from all angles.

Packing:  The kit comes in a blue box about 10" x 5" x 5".  Included are 5 separate bags of parts, plus the hull is wrapped in bubble type wrapping.  The entire kit is well protected to guard against damage.

Drawback:  No decals are provided, tracks are Resin individual links. 

Recommendation:  If you can afford it, buy it!